Aviva boss: ‘Friends integration is ahead of plan’

Insurer Aviva reported third quarter figures showing the value of new business rose 25% to £823 million, the eleventh consecutive quarter of growth.

Chief executive Mark Wilson also hailed the acquisition of Friends Life as “everything we expected it to be”. The integration is ahead of plan.

Mr Wilson said: “We are maintaining the momentum of Aviva’s transformation with a further quarter of improved performance.

“In life insurance, value of new business was up 25%, the eleventh consecutive quarter of growth. The general insurance combined ratio of 94% is a more than adequate result. This level of consistency is important as we transform and grow Aviva.

“The acquisition of Friends Life is everything we expected it to be. We have now achieved £91m of savings against our target of £225m. At the same time our UK Life business continues to grow and our customers are responding positively to the full range of pensions freedoms we offer.

“In asset management, our flagship fund range, AIMS, continues its strong investment performance and the Target Return Fund has recorded returns of 6.6% over the past 12 months. AIMS now has £1.9 billion of funds under management. We expect this growth to continue.”